The Apprenticeship
by livie375
Summary: After Tris learns that Four is cheating on her with Shauna, she didn't think things could get any worse. Then she learns about the Apprenticeship. A month of leadership training with Eric gets VERY interesting.
1. Chapter 1

The dampness of the stone wall she was leaning against seeped into Tris's shirt. She had come to this quiet hallway as a refuge from Four's apartment; the apartment where she had once felt her safest, yet she had only felt anger and sadness at now. Tris dropped her head into her hands, the last half hour playing in her head on a loop. Her fight with Four. No, not just a stupid fight. Their breakup.

" _Tris." She had known something was wrong on the silent walk to his apartment, as well as when she sat on his bed and he choose to stand in front of her, pacing. "I don't think this is working out."_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Even though you just finished your initiation, I just don't think this relationship is going to work. I think it is best if we stayed friends." He had really hoped that saying it kindly and saying it bluntly would make her realise that he was in love with someone else._

" _I, I don't understand." Tris's voice was coming out breathy, like she couldn't understand or believe what Four was saying. When he invited her to his apartment to 'talk', she didn't know that he meant that he was going to break up with her. "Did I do something wrong? Am I not pretty enough? Do you want more? What it something I said? Did you… meet someone?"_

" _No, no," he tried to sit beside her and take her hands. She faced the other way. "Tris, I can't be with someone who is afraid of me. I saw your fear landscape. I need someone who isn't afraid of intimacy; I did come to dauntless for a reason. I don't want to be stuck in Abnegation."_

" _I don't get it. We can get through it, I am in Dauntless now, and I shouldn't be stuck in Abnegation, your right. Your right. We can work through this." Her eyes started to burn because she knew she couldn't change his mind. No, she couldn't cry. No. Not right now. Not in front of him._

 _He let out a frustrated groan. "It isn't just that Tris, I did meet someone. Well, I've known them for a while, but I realised only now that I'm… that I am in love with her. I'm sorry Tris. It isn't fair to have led you on when I had feelings for someone else. I would like us to remain friends."_

 _Tris stood up and walked slowly to the door. Her head muddled with a thousand different thoughts. She turned back, and tried to sound like she didn't care, even though she did. "Who is she?"_

 _"Shauna."_

 _At that moment, she didn't just feel sadness about the breakup; she felt pity for Shauna, because she didn't know about how much Four lacked in dating skills._

 _"Wait! Tris don't—"She closed the door and took a step. Tris used to worship the ground that he walked on, but not anymore._

That's how she ended up here, leaning against the cold stone wall of a dead-end hallway.

Even though Four had admitted that he cheated on her, silent tears were still running down her face. Tris knew that she should be angry at him, but she wasn't. All Tris thought about was how her first boyfriend - her first almost everything, had ended so quickly. She thought that they would last forever, or at least until the end of the initiation, but it hadn't. She really thought she loved him. He was so kind, handsome, nice, and gentle with her in private, but he had cheated on her. How could she have been so wrong about Four? And what did Shauna have that Tris didn't? Tris thought about all the things that she didn't have, such as experience and beauty. She laid her head against the wall and blocked out everything around her.

…

Eric knew that to be respected, he had to be mean. It worked fine with him; people were usually scared by just looking at him. He used his intimidating looks, mean behavior and genius brain to earn respect. So when Jeannine Matthews asked him to be a part of her plan, describing it to him as 'being a part of something bigger than ourselves', he agreed because leadership meant respect. And being a part in her plan would put him in a higher rank in Erudite, even though the whole operation was a secret. I mean, that is why he chose to become a leader in Dauntless: for Jeannine's plan. But being a leader meant much more than scaring people and remaining distant, he had to make decisions, and attend all of the events.

One of the events he had to attend was the banquet that told the initiates their final rank. Eric didn't like it. It was an excuse to party to celebrate the initiates who became members. Why not tell them in their dormitory? Why make it a celebration with everyone? Eric didn't get social events; he always thought of himself as a loner. He wasn't in Dauntless to make friends after all.

He was walking to the dining hall to get set up early even though he still had an hour before the banquet started. Eric took a path to the dining room that was not known to many, it was quiet and he took that time to think before the loud shouts of drunken Dauntless started. He had been walking by a dead end dip in the hallway when he heard what he thought was a whimper. It was small, but he was sure he had heard it.

He looked down to see Tris sitting against a wall in the short dead-ended hallway. Eric thought about why the hell she was here and what he was going to do to Four about his initiates, even though he didn't care about Tris. It wasn't just that she was probably going to get kicked out; it was about how she was a transfer and the last transfer from Abnegation had punched his tooth out.

Tris hadn't noticed him yet, so Eric was going to walk right past her when he noticed that she was crying. He noticed how she just sat there, with silent tears, staring at the wall - no emotion in her face or eyes. He deliberated walking right past her; yet it just didn't feel right. He didn't get to make a choice because she noticed him with a start. Tris stood up, wiped her tears and looked at him with wide eyes.

"So-sorry, I was just leaving." She stuttered, turning to leave.

"Tris, wait." Eric still wanted to know if she was ok, but by still keeping up the mean façade he put on all day. He said in a stern voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I-I was just wandering. I came here for some quiet." Tris looked down at her hands and fidgeted.

…

The last thing she needed was Eric teasing her about her love life with Four, let alone knowing about it. It dawned on her then that she and Four hadn't even told anyone yet, and she swallowed a bitter laugh.

"Why are you crying?" He practically yelled, frowning.

"Why do you care?" Tris countered. It didn't seem very Eric-like to care about anyone else's feelings besides his own. Besides, she thought, she didn't have to tell him anything about why she was crying or why she was in the hallway.

"I care when it concerns initiates that I have to take care of; it is on me if you do anything stupid. So?" Eric crossed his arms and widened his stance, looking more formal and intimidating.

"I don't have to tell you anything and I wasn't doing anything wrong, ok?" Tris was getting frustrated, her mind having completely forgotten about Four for a moment.

"No. By not telling me, you are betraying your faction, betraying a dauntless leader. Do you want to end up factionless?" He spat the words. "What about your friends? Do you want them to get kicked out, because I can change the rankings right now! It's my job that you don't end up at the bottom of the chasm like Al—"

"Fine!" She screamed. "You really want to know what happened?! Four broke up with me! We were dating!" She flung her arms around in wild gestures. "He broke up with me, claiming that he doesn't want to date anyone who is scared of him, because of my fear landscape. He claimed that, but he just used it as a cover of what he was really doing! He cheated on me Eric! It didn't even feel like we were dating and he cheated. I just—"

Tris stopped gesturing wildly and dropped to the ground, sitting as she had before, against the wall with her head in her hands.

"I want to be angry." She said in a small voice. "I want to, I'm just—not."

…

Eric knew that he was going to have a very serious talk with Four about his teaching methods, but he had more pressing matters to deal with right now, like the girl who was crying five feet away from him. He felt a dozen emotions at once, which almost never happens these days. He felt confusion at Four, because being a stiff, he was usually polite to everyone – except Eric. And anger, because her story didn't help his opinion of Four and even _he_ wouldn't cheat on his girlfriend. Not that he has ever had one. But most of all, he felt sadness for Tris because she felt so used, so abandoned, and that's why he sat next to her.

It surprised him as much as it surprised Tris, but he decided to drop the jerk act for a minute and give her some advice.

"Listen, I never liked Four, but I guess that was obvious." She looked sideways at him, her silent tears stilled for a second. "I am not one to tell advice, but most guys are like that, so be careful." Careful about everything, not just guys, he wanted to say.

"Wow, real inspirational, Eric." She sarcastically chuckled. If she had to be honest, she would say that she was surprised at how non-jackassey and nice he was being, but mostly embarrassed. She didn't like people seeing her weaknesses and Four was one of them. Here she was telling her enemy, Eric, about Four and crying in front of him.

"I'm telling you the truth, Tris."

She stopped laughing and looked thoughtful. "I know."

Eric checked his watch and stood up, "I've got to go get ready for the banquet in the dining hall."

"I completely forgot." Tris said absentmindedly.

Standing above her, it reminded him of how young and fragile she looked, yet she is only two years younger. He felt like Tris was more mature than she looked. "The banquet is in half an hour." He started walking away, then turned around and asked, "You coming?"

A look of complete surprise crosses over her face, "Yeah." She heard herself say it, but is again surprised at everything that has happened today. Four breaking up with her was totally unseen and Eric being nice to her? Please, no one saw that coming.

"Just because I was partially nice today, I am still a dauntless leader, so nothing has changed." He said on the walk to the dining hall. "Don't act like we are friends, because we are not, okay Stiff?"


	2. Chapter 2

Tris left to go to her regular table with Christina, Will and Uriah. The dining hall was already full with screaming dauntless because the walk took much longer than expected. Eric walked up onto the stage to set up the microphone. No one even noticed him until the microphone squealed and all of dauntless collectively grimaced and shouted at him. It might have been scary for someone else, but Eric wasn't here to make friends.

He does the congratulations-for-getting-here speech, and they show the rankings of the initiates.

In first place… is Tris?

Eric thought that it couldn't be right. Yeah; she ranked the highest in the simulations by far, but was that enough to compensate for her fighting rank? He looked down into the crowd from his place on the stage, and saw Tris getting bombarded with hugs, and suddenly, Eric sees Four approaching her. Concern and protectiveness flashes in Eric's eyes - It's not that he cares for her; he's just concerned about what might happen between them if Four does something to anger Tris. No one wants a scene, especially one that Eric might have to explain to Jeannine, who is watching everything. Then she would suspect that there are dating, which they weren't anymore, but Jeannine always makes every conversation about Divergent's. And Jeannine would surely suspect that Tris was divergent if she looked into her, even Eric was suspecting it. Tris and Christina both crossed their arms and Tris makes a face and says something before he walks away frowning.

…

Tris notices Eric watching her after Four leaves. She holds his gaze - not because she likes him or thinks he is being friendly - but because she is curious. Curious about why he's watching her, about why he was being so different to her today and curious about what is going to happen. Is everything going to go back to normal? Are they going to pretend that she didn't tell him about her love life and cried? That is what he said he wanted, after all.

"What was that all about? I thought you and Four were friends…" Christina asks, and then looking at Tris's line of sight, Christina sees her and Eric staring at each other, "and what the hell is that about?"

"Um…" After Tris tells Christina about the whole truth about Four, and she stops threatening him, Chris brings her attention to Eric again.

"Listen, Tris." She places her hands on her shoulders, looking down at her. "He is a sadistic psychopath. You cannot be friends or anything else with him, ok? He hung me over the _chasm,_ Tris."

"Christina, nothing is going on. He is a leader and a psychopath. He talked to me when I was having a bit of a breakdown and it kind of nice—"

"He actually talked to you civilly? Wow, okay, maybe he isn't a total jackass, but he is still a jackass." She loops her arm through Tris's, walking towards their busy table.

"But a complete psychopath, right?" Tris asks Christina.

"Right." The two girls both laugh.

After eating the banquet and celebrating how they all are staying in Dauntless and not factionless, Tris walks through the busy dining hall, bumping into at least 10 drunken dauntless members, trying to get to the leaders table. She is trying to get there as quickly as she can, as to not lose her nerve. Sitting at the leaders table is Max, Four, Eric and more dauntless leaders that Tris doesn't recognize. They are all in an animated conversation, equipped with laughing and yelling. Well, all except Eric.

"Um, excuse me?" She says in a small, barely audible voice.

The conversation stops. Max looks over at her with a bored expression; Eric looks bored as well, trying to hide his curiosity and Four looks expectantly at Tris, getting ready to stand.

"Yes?" Max's deep voice rumbles.

"I was just wondering if I could talk to you, uh… Eric?" Everyone is looking at her now, no one trying to hide their surprise, not even Eric. Four's mouth hangs open in shock.

"Umm, yes, sure. Uh…." He stands up and leaves his tray on the table. She had never seen him so caught off guard.

Tris leads him to one of the hallways off the dining room, one of the quieter halls. He stands still and looks at her, feet apart and crossed arms.

"Well," she starts, "this may be kind of silly, especially because you told me not to talk to you, but I want to thank you. For sitting with me, I'm not sure what I would have done without your, uh, pep talk, and it was appreciated. Thank you."

He shuffles around awkwardly, Eric doesn't know how to respond, he told her not to act like friends and here she was thanking him. Then again, when was the last time someone had said thank you other than Jeannine? Everyone didn't even try to hide their hate of him. "Your welcome."

"I'm sorry for betraying your rules too." She laughs and looks down at her hands. Tris regretted asking Eric to talk, what was she supposed to say now? In her opinion, this conversation couldn't get any more awkward or worse.

Tris was wrong, because just as she thought that, Four came into the hall and stood before them. It was now a triangle of three very confused and angry people.

"What is going on here, huh? Eric, what are you doing?" He sized Eric up, his blue eyes narrowing with suspicion and hatred.

"It's nothing Four. We were just talking. I told you to never talk to me again, I thought you understood that?" Tris straightened her back and stood up to her full height, which wasn't impressive against the two tall men standing beside her.

"No, Tris, because you are just trying to make me jealous by talking with Eric, huh? Or were you cheating on me with Eric?! And I know that's not right unless Eric did something to you, so what did you do, Eric?" Four turned to Eric, pointing his finger at him and yelling. Four had lost all common sense, not even thinking about how he cheated on Tris first, or thinking about what he was even saying. Rage covered all senses, he just thought about Tris and Eric together and how mad it made him.

Eric started with an equal glare of hatred, "you know what, Four? We did cheat on you and I made her completely forget about you. In fact, she never loved you and realized that you were holding her back. The _whole_ time you were dating her we were—"

"No!" Tris screamed. "I never cheated on you Four, and I would like you to just leave. And Eric, what the hell?"

"You expect me to believe you?" Four yelled.

"May I remind you, Four, that _you_ cheated on _me_ with Shauna and what made you suddenly believe Eric over me?"

"Well—"He started.

"No. Leave right now." Tris held up her hands. "You don't believe me? Fine. Leave right now or I will get my new _boyfriend_ Eric to kick your ass."

Four stalked away, brooding, into the dining hall, giving Eric one last glare.

"Tris, I'm sor—"

"You don't get to talk to me either. What the hell were you thinking? Me and you?" she laughed bitterly. "Why did you tell Four that? You were making it worse! I shouldn't have talked to you in the first place…" Tris walked away and groaned in frustration. Only then did she realize two things, one: Eric just apologized, which is unheard of, and two: she could get kicked out of Dauntless for talking that way to a leader. Now she definitely regretted that this conversation ever happened.

Eric walked after her, she turned around to him and he said, "It just came out, I am sor… I am sorry. I had no place to interfere, and you could have faced him alone. And yes, I did make the situation worse. It's Four and it's me, I mean, what do you expect? We aren't exactly friends, Tris." His face turned sour again.

"Yeah, but I thought _we_ were actually getting somewhere! And even after 10 minutes of talking to you, I guess the _Abnegation_ in me came out and I wanted to be your friend!" She shouted, turning back to glare at him.

"We are not friends and will never be. "

She turned and walked away to meet her friends in the dining hall and left him standing there, unsure about what to do or think after all the emotions he usually supressed, came tumbling out.


	3. Chapter 3

The pair never talked after that. They had no reason too; Eric was still a cruel and mean leader, while Tris was adjusting to Dauntless life on her one month break after initiation and her life after Four broke her heart. Yeah, they passed each other in the hallways, Tris saw Eric at Dauntless holidays with the other leaders and they occasionally glanced at each other in the pit - but they never talked. Well, until the new Dauntless members got assigned the apprenticeships.

Each initiate got assigned an occupation according to their rankings, so the people in first and last place got the best and worse jobs. These jobs were just for a month and were picked by the Max; an apprenticeship with someone in that career to make sure the initiates get the right job.

Tris didn't like this system. She was ranked first which meant the job she was going to get was a leader. She was going to have to be an apprentice to one of the leaders, like Max, a leader she didn't know, or Eric. Could she refuse to be a leader? She thought about that all night long. What would she do if she had to spend a month with Eric? She would have hated that before the _Situation_ \- as she and Christina were calling it - because Eric was a mean jackass who had hung Christina over the chasm, but now it was just awkward. Eric had seen Tris when she was vulnerable, and looking back she didn't know why she even told him about Four.

Next thing Tris knew, it was the morning, and she walked out of her new tiny apartment, down several hallways and through the damp and dark tunnels into the pit. It wasn't packed to the brim like on a Friday night, but quite a few people were there in front of the ledge in the pit wall that was used as a stage. She recognized all of the initiates, and some of their family. Tris walked over to where Christina, Will and Uriah we standing in a circle. They all looked fairly happy; she didn't miss the announcement did she?

"Whoa, what happened to you?" asked Uriah, smiling cheery as ever, but with concern in his eyes.

"Hello to you too." She frowned.

"Aww, hon, it's gonna be okay, hopefully you'll get a good leader to follow." Christina smiled and placed her arm through Tris's, trying to comfort her.

"You have to apprentice a leader? What if you get Eric?" Uriah says in between fits of hysterical laughing, while Christina glared at him. He didn't know about the _Situation_. No one except Christina did.

"Hey!" Christina bit, "You might get a worse job, so shut up."

The microphone squealed before Tris could say anything to Uriah, and she suddenly looked up to the stage that Eric was now on. She blamed her nervousness on how they were getting their jobs, not because Eric was staring at her.

"Welcome!" Eric's voice boomed from the speakers. "And congratulations to all the new members who made it here! Without further ado, the apprenticeships!"

Behind him was a big projection on the wall of the pit with all of the initiates and their occupations.

Tris: leader, Eric

Uriah: Initiate Trainer, Four

Lynn: Weapon Maker, Harper

Marlene: City's Security Force, Jett

Peter: City's Security Force, Zeke

Will: Fence Guard, Callie

Christina: Tattoo Artist, Tori

"Shit."

…

Eric hated this ceremony more than the last. The other one just gave them their ranks, this one meant he had to school around a stupid and clueless initiate like a trainer with a dog. Last year was his first time doing it because he had been an initiate the year before, and that one time was enough. He had had a boy named Sebs, and yeah, he was smart, but he didn't care _or_ show up.

Eric had no idea who was apprenticing with who. He was involved in all of the important decisions, but Max liked to take on these little tasks. It was either that or Jeannine forced him. They had deemed Eric too young to be a leader - even though age didn't matter and he had been second in his initiate year - the other leaders still teased him. So Eric had no idea who Max was going to make him suffer with.

Tris: leader, Eric

Eric blinked. Then he winced and inwardly groaned. Why did _he_ have to get the stiff? The pathetic, stupid, little stiff who told him practically all of her secrets three months ago and who he had caught staring at him more than once. It felt like she wasn't afraid of him, which he didn't like. He wanted to have control, to predict people and Tris was always so unpredictable. He also didn't like it because if she wasn't afraid of him, she wouldn't respect him.

He asked himself why he cared and he told himself that he wanted _everyone_ to respect him.

Tris was going to ruin his life with her questions and big mouth for the next month, he knew that much.

He rolled his neck around. "Congratulations to everyone for their positions. All of the people who you will apprentice are here today, find them and they will tell you where to report to tomorrow. You have had a month break so I expect you to do your absolute best with this."

…

"Listen, Honey, I got to go. I'll see you later, okay? I'm so sorry you got Eric, Tris." Christina was sorry for Tris, but excited about being Tori's apprentice and being able to do her dream job as a tattoo artist. Tris resisted an eye roll; it was obvious that Chris wasn't really _that_ sorry. "Bye Tris! Sorry."

Tris stood at the same spot she was with her friends a few seconds ago. Uriah had happily gone to find Four and Will had gone to find out who Callie was. She waited for Eric because he had had people come up and ask questions, and she thought that that must have taken a lot of bravery to go up to Eric with his cold eyes and glares.

While she awkwardly stood there, she felt sorry for herself; even though she knew it was selfish to do so she couldn't help it; she had to spend a _whole_ month with _Eric_. How would she do it with all of his snarky words and mean smirks? With him degrading her for all of her flaws, as if she didn't know she already had them? She could have almost screamed at her frustration.

The thing that had worried and scared her most about this apprenticeship was the Situation. She worried about how much Eric would tease and taunt her about Four and about her stupidity about trusting and loving him.

Four, thankfully, had left her alone after it, but she had caught him staring at her a couple of times. A couple days after the Situation, she did go to the dining hall only to see Four and Eric all broken and bruised. When Eric saw Four he grinned triumphantly, so she guessed he had been practicing his fighting to finally beat Four.

Tris turned and looked around at the new Dauntless members and the people they were going to have to spend the next month with. Where was the sadistic man who was going torture _her_ for the next month?

She turned to look at the stage and was instead met with cold, relentless eyes. She took a deep breath; she didn't think that she would be this unsure what to do when she finally came face to face with Eric.

He smirked at her, as if he could sense her discomfort. "You ready, stiff?"

It was then that she had realized that during the Situation, he had called her Tris.


	4. Chapter 4

Tris woke up early and got ready for the day, choosing her clothing carefully.

She really had no idea what to expect. Would Eric make her train? Would he do leadership exercises with her? She was ready to be challenged, but was she ready to face the wrath of Eric, the youngest leader? Although she would never admit it, Tris was a little frightened. Eric was one of the most unpredictable people she had ever met. One minute he was fine, and the next he was yelling and trembling from all of the anger he somehow just happened to realize was there. She kept asking herself, _how hard can really leadership training be?_

She walked through the pit in her loose training clothes and went up the elevators into the leadership offices. All of the offices were in long, dark and dreary hallways above ground, all spreading out from one big foyer off the elevator.

Sitting behind a large desk in the middle of the big foyer was Cat, someone Christina had introduced her to a while back. Cat was three years older than them, and always happy and bubbly – Tris would have thought that Amity would have been a better fit for Cat if she hadn't known that she was one of the top initiates of her year.

Cat smiled, "What's got you in the leadership offices, Tris?"

Tris smiled to be polite, but she wasn't really in a hopeful mood. "I'm here to see Eric. Can you tell me where his office is?"

Cat's smile faltered, "He is down the first hallway on your right, the last door" She pointed to one of the less-lit hallways, "And be careful, he is in a foul mood."

Tris swallowed but still said, "Isn't he always?"

That earned a laugh from Cat before Tris continued to the hallway. All of the doors on the sides were closed, which made Tris wonder why there were so many offices, and how many were actually filled. There were only a handful of Dauntless leaders, and she had never heard of any kind of people below them working in leadership, but there must be. She was just curious where they all were at this moment – it was so silent.

Suddenly, a door burst open from beside Tris, and she jumped a little; she hadn't been expecting anything to happen so sudden in the dead silence. She flattened herself against the wall, trying to not be noticed.

Out of it came a young woman in a high ponytail and a tattooed and pierced man both in dauntless black arguing over something that Tris didn't totally understand.

"We have to get the serums out now!" The woman said urgently in hushed tone. "We are running out of time."

The man was about to reply when he saw Tris pressed up against the opposite wall, and he stopped, surprised at the small girl. The woman followed his gaze, and shot Tris a deadly glare.

"Come on, Jack." She gripped his arm viciously, and pulled him away, while he stayed turned around, staring at Tris.

The whole incident made Tris feel very unsettled and she didn't know why. It was a very quick moment, but Tris had millions of questions. Who were those people? Were they part of leadership? Why did they seem so surprised to see her? But most of all, what serum? Tris couldn't focus on her questions because had to get to Eric's office on time or who knows what would happen to her.

The last office was at the dead end of the hallway, not on the sides like the other offices. There was a piece of tape falling off that had _Eric Coulter_ scribbled on it. Tris thought that it all looked very unprofessional for the big scary man that was Eric Coulter, and she would've laughed if she had felt more upbeat. And had the big scary man not have been in the office, only a door away.

She knocked confidently, hoping that her nerves wouldn't show in front of Eric. He could smell fear.

"Come in!" Eric's gruff voice called from the office, and she tentatively opened the door.

Inside was a wall full of bookcases stuffed with books on one side, and opposite that was a bare wall. Eric was sitting at a metal desk that had two chairs in front and many stacks of papers on it, and was holding a pen over an open file. The only light was coming from a tiny lamp on his desk and from the window covered with blinds behind him; it was extremely dark considering it was 8 o'clock in the morning. The office was tiny, bare and not personal at all - unless you counted the books and the cabinet in the far corner filled with weapons of all sorts and guns.

Tris almost felt bad for him at that moment. He was a Dauntless leader – a leader of a faction - and this is what he got? She guessed that the other leaders treated him like crap judging by this barren office. Was it because he had a nasty attitude and everyone hated him, so they had given him this? Or was it that they had deemed him not fit to become a proper leader?

Her gaze focused back on Eric, who was still skimming over his file, his long blonde hair flopping down to cover his face.

"What do you want Cat?" He said. "I told you not to bother me today."

Had he forgotten about her already? "It's Tris. You know, your apprentice." She prompted.

He looked up with widened eyes, like he did forget, but recovered quickly with less hate than usual in his voice, "Of course I know, I'm not stupid, stiff."

"Okay," Tris rocked back on her heels uncomfortably, there was nothing she could do but agree with him. "What would you like me do today?"

…

Eric looked around, his eyes frantically trying to find something for Tris to do.

Eric had completely forgotten that he was supposed to train Tris today. He had been caught up in the news of the uprisings of some factionless, and even some small groups of Dauntless members, who were protesting against factions and doing violent acts. As the newest leader, Max had asked him to take on the task of identifying all of the rebels in Dauntless associated with the newest protest. This past week, a small group set fire to the Ferris wheel on the pier, and when they had sent out Dauntless soldiers to gather the traitors, they had all escaped. Eric had to track down all eleven of the people who were involved in the protest. Fortunately, they had played off the attack as some weird Dauntless ritual and that they were getting punished for it.

 _This_ was Jeannine's plan – to stamp down the Divergent and the rebels.

He was so tired and worn out that he hadn't even remembered something as obvious as the apprenticeship that he had announced _yesterday_.

He was sure that Tris had noticed that he had forgotten her, but she didn't bring it up and only leaned, looking amused, against the door frame. He was thankful that she didn't because he had no energy to even snap at her.

"Here," He shoved a pen and some paperwork at her, "Fill these out."

"Where do I sit?"

He was getting annoyed, and found out that he _did_ have enough energy to snap at her, but didn't because she had a good point. "You can sit in one of these chairs," He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, "And just…write on my desk, okay?"

"Okay," She pulled the chair closer to the desk, and pushed some files off a small space for her to work.

"No talking unless you have a question." He _needed_ to prove to Max and all the other leaders that he _could_ be a good leader and find those rebels. He was almost ashamed of his small office; he was a leader, not a janitor.

Tris hadn't even started on her work before she asked, "How is this training me to be a leader?"

Eric was pissed; he wanted her gone so he could have some peace and quiet. He decided that he should've just sent her away, but the extra help on the loads of paperwork he had to do was almost worth it. "As a leader, you have to fill out lots of paperwork, so this is practice. Now shut up."

They worked in silence for a bit, but Eric was getting agitated whenever she blatantly stared at him for a couple seconds, and then looked back to her paperwork. On her fifth time doing it, he gritted his teeth, trying to contain his anger. "Do you need something?"

"Why do you have such a…small office? You're a leader; shouldn't you have a bigger one?" She stared straight at him, unblinking, and Eric was almost impressed that she had been so honest and had not let her nerves show; even though he knew she had them.

On any other day, he would have shouted, yelled and spat at her for daring to ask a leader that, but instead he just simply stated, "In Dauntless, leaders have to prove their worth, especially if you're a young leader."

"Oh," Tris looked down, then back up, "But what if you have visitors? Do they really want other factions to see a leader in such a crappy office?"

"If I have a visitor or a meeting, they transfer me to another office on the floor above mine."

Eric paused then; she was asking a lot of questions, too many questions. Tris had a certain curiosity in her that was only a part of an Erudite's skill set. The realization slowly washed over him: she was Dauntless and Erudite.

 _Oh shit_ , he thought, _Tris is divergent_.


	5. Chapter 5

Tris wasn't enjoying herself, but she wasn't all that unhappy either. Doing paperwork instead of him yelling at her, physically pushing her limits or teaching her was a great alternative in her opinion. She was actually surprised that he hadn't chastised her. Sure, he had scolded her, and had had that look of absolute annoyance on his face more than once, but Tris was almost optimistic that she could get through the next month if this was what it would be like; if all of the apprenticeship was just sitting in his dark office, silently doing paperwork. She even thought it was almost soothing – but she could feel the anger pulsing off him every so often and wondered what he was angry about.

They silently did paperwork for, what seemed to Tris, a couple of hours.

"Eric, can you open the blinds or something? It's really dark in here. How can you even work in this?"

"You worked in this much darkness for quite a bit, may I add." He looked at her reluctantly, considering.

He stood up out of his chair, and she watched him stretch out his muscles after sitting in a chair for a couple hours. She could see the muscles bulging out of his arms, even through his thin hoodie, which made Tris wonder how many hours he spent training and working out. Tris thought that some women or men may be attracted to the super bulgy guys, but she preferred someone who was leaner – someone like Four.

That thought made her wince. She was thankful that neither of them had mentioned the breakdown that Eric had witnessed. Neither had spoken a word about it, and Tris was even working past the whole incident, barely thinking about It or him. Of course whenever she saw Four – which was quite often – Tris was reminded of that fatal afternoon when Four had told her about Shauna. Seeing Shauna was hard too, but not as hard as seeing them together - joking or kissing like Tris and Four had been. Thankfully, she had Christina, Will, Uriah and the rest of her friends to lean on, although she knew she couldn't forever. Tris hated the bubble of self-pity that surrounded her whenever she thought about the whole incident; she _knew_ she was strong enough to overcome it, but she hadn't yet.

The bright light almost blinded Tris after being in the yellow and dim light from the pathetic lamp for so long. The view outside of Eric's office was pathetic as well, something equally bad as the office itself. _No wonder he never opens his blinds_ , she thought. Although lots of light had been let in, Tris could only see a towering wall of concrete; she had _no_ idea what this wall was attached to. This maze of hallways that was the leadership offices always confused and disoriented her.

"You sure you want them open, Stiff?" He smirked at her expression.

"Please stop calling me that," Tris repeated the words that she had said so often during initiation in a small voice. She hoped that with this weird and tired mood Eric was in, that he would let her on the hook for asking him something so bluntly.

"What did you just say?" His voice was laced with venom, and he leaned down threateningly close to her face with his fists resting on the desk. His sudden mood change surprised her.

"Please don't call me that." Her voice sounded more confident than she actually was, and she abbreviated every word. Tris's hands tightened into fists under the desk; she was frustrated at him. She was _not_ a stiff anymore and she didn't like anyone to think that she still was.

The whole air in the room was turning sour and full of tension.

"No!" Eric shouted, stood up and ran his hands viciously through his hair with frustration, not totally aimed at Tris. "And get the hell out of my office! Right now!"

"Why?" Tris was pushing his patience and she knew it. Why? She couldn't tell you. She just wanted to yell at him – at _someone_ \- so she egged him on. It wasn't even about him calling her a stiff anymore, she just wanted to release all of her pent-up anger she had about Four and everything else on him. Tris was just as unpredictable as him. And she was exasperated now, "Why, Eric?"

"Tris, I swear to God I will hurt you very badly if you don't get the _hell out of my office!_ " He swore and pointed at the door.

She huffed triumphantly and most of her anger and frustration drained away, replaced with contentment and she sank back into her chair. She didn't get to pummel his face, but she did get what she wanted after all. He had said her name. She didn't even have anything to be mad at him for anymore. "Thank you."

He sighed, defeated, and sat down, dropping his head in his hands with his elbows on the table. "Now just get out. Take a lunch break or whatever."

Now it was Tris's turn to do the questioning. "I'm not hungry. Eric, what's wrong? What happened?"

…

Eric was so sick and so tired of everything that all he wanted was to be away for people and some _sleep_.

"I can't tell you." He looked up at her, staring into her eyes. He couldn't tell her about Jeannine and her plan, or about the uprisings, and _definitely_ not about his suspicion of her divergence. "I just need some time. Time. Away. From people. Meaning you."

"No." She stood, looking into his eyes defiantly, although she did wince a tiny bit at the words she was about to say. "You helped me a couple of months ago when you talked to me right before the banquet. Do you remember? You _helped_ me, and I owe you one, no matter how much I hate you. So I will listen to your problems and try to help you."

It hadn't even crossed his mind to yell at her for saying that she had hated him right now, Eric had just hoped that she wouldn't bring that one incident up - it was embarrassing that she told him about Four, and embarrassing that he talked to her that way. He didn't think that Tris's pride would let her talk about it either.

He didn't want her help. He would handle this the same way he always did – alone and after an intense stress-relieving training session. _Tris must have a little bit of Abnegation thrown into the mix of factions that was her divergence_ , he thought, _especially if she had offered to help someone like me._

"Plus, I am training to be a leader, so I will eventually know anyways what this is about." She stated.

"Tris, you will _never_ understand. You are _not_ a leader yet. And I cannot tell _you_ anything. This stuff is confidential, so thanks, but no thanks. I don't care if you get lunch or not, just get _out_ of my office."

Tris stepped around the desk - stepping into troubled waters - and stopped right in front of Eric, holding her hands out in front of him, palms up. "Please, Eric, just—"

"Just no."

Eric was confused on why she wanted this so badly. Did she just want the information? Did she honestly want to help him, or was it all part of a plan? He was taught in Erudite to trust no one - unless you had all the facts, that is. But what utterly and completely confused him was how quickly Tris changed from getting mad at her nickname, to pleading with him to help him. It made him surprised to see such a gigantic change in attitude, so he believed that she must have an ulterior motive.

Eric knew how to make her go away quickly and quietly, but he didn't want to do it. Eric may have been one of the most hated people in Dauntless, and someone who was ruthless, cruel and unpredictable, but even he thought it was a rough move. He was so desperate for some peace, quiet and space that he decided to attempt it. Eric usually thought about the repercussions of things, but he didn't this time.

"You know what Tris; there is one way that you _can_ help me." He stepped really close to Tris.

"Yes, okay, what?" She was getting flustered and uncomfortable at his sudden close proximity, but she had the accomplished feeling like she had worn down Eric. And she had, in a way.

He pressed up against her, and slid one of his hands to press against the back of her neck and one holding her around the waist. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You could make all of my problems disappear, _Tris_."

Eric didn't let Tris slip away from him or react before he kissed her. Some part of him knew that just his sudden closeness would drive her away, but a big part of him wanted to be thorough. The kiss was long and slow, and she didn't even bother to step away, even though his grip was loose enough to. It wasn't like she was mauling him, but…. She definitely wasn't moving away either. She _did_ kiss him back, much to his surprise, and he made it last longer than it had to. When he pulled away, he thought that yeah, she wasn't the _best_ at it, but he wouldn't mind doing it again.

Just as he suspected, she backed away slowly with a look of surprise, disgust and fright. She didn't even say anything as she ran out the door.

Eric felt guilty and slimy - it was a sick move to pull - but at least he was finally alone. He sunk back into his chair, but couldn't get to work. He closed the blinds. He repositioned Tris's – no, his offices chair. He tried everything.

Eric decided that with the look on her face; it was definitely not worth it.


	6. Chapter 6

Tris was appalled.

The kiss was replaying in her mind over and over on the walk to the dining hall. Tris had so many conflicting emotions. She was disgusted that he had kissed her – and especially without her consent – but she didn't know what she felt about the _actual_ kiss.

Tris tried to convince herself that it was a gross, slimy-like-a-fish kiss. But it wasn't. No matter how hard she had tried to convince herself think that she had hated it, she didn't. The truth was that Eric was a great kisser. She hated herself for admitting it because she wanted to hate the kiss and be absolutely angry at him – and she was – but she was more focused on if she would ever kiss Eric again. _Which obviously isn't going to happen,_ Tris thought _._

But she was also unsure about what to do next. She didn't want to go back to work with Eric tomorrow, but she had to. And she couldn't report him to anyone because he _was_ the leadership, and he could easily say that she was lying or pin it on her.

She walked down to meet her friends in the dining hall, despite having totally no appetite. They were sitting in the middle of the big room, surrounded by drunk, laughing, happy and energetic Dauntless.

She sat down next to Christina and across from Uriah. She didn't want too much attention in case they read her face and asked what was up, so she muttered a quiet, "Hey."

"Hey, how's it going with the scary leader so far?" Christina said around a bite of her hamburger. _Well that worked great_ , Tris thought sarcastically.

"Fine. I just did paperwork the whole time." She wasn't about to tell them about her embarrassing kiss with Eric. That would earn endless teasing and endless questions – never mind what Al would do. "What about you guys?"

"Well, Four is so quiet. And boring. He never talks unless it's about computers or training. It's no fun." Uriah leaned back on the bench, and then stood up abruptly, looking across the hall. He started walking away, and called back behind his shoulder, "Hey, I gotta do something. See you!"

Christina threw a wary look at Tris at the mention of Four. Uriah didn't know about the whole business with Four. They figured that since Four was training him, it would be better if he didn't know. But Tris still had him as a friend to lean on – even if Uriah didn't know why.

"What about you, Chris?" Tris totally ignored the mention of Four, and continued on like nothing had happened.

She squealed, going back to her normal self in a flash. "It's amazing! I love drawing and the tech is _so_ cool. You should come in and I could give you a tattoo! Tris. That is a fantastic idea!"

Tris almost roll her eyes at the thought of Christina using her as someone to test out designs – permanent designs – but she wasn't worried because she would never let it happen. She _was_ getting sick of being Chris's own personal doll, but Chris was a good friend to her, so she sucked it up. "I don't know, Chris. I don't think I need another one."

"Fine, I'll just have to use Will." Chris smiled wickedly at Will, and leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her, and they started chatting in their own private bubble.

Tris was awkwardly looking around the dining hall to give the couple some space. From across Christina, Al stared at her. "So, how is Eric really?"

She knew that Al had an ulterior motive for his questions. It had been like this for a while - especially since the start of the apprenticeships. He wanted to get close to her, to be one of her closest friends and get her to rely on him. It was his strategy to get beyond the friend zone into something more intimate. She didn't want that, she liked him as her friend. And all Al did was sulk whenever he got too drunk to walk in a straight line and confessed his love for her, only to have her refuse him. He never gave up though, and Tris was beginning to get more and more agitated.

"Like I said, I did paperwork and it was fine. We barely even talked." She smiled, even though she didn't feel like it. But she had to - to keep Al at bay and not devastated – it was mostly her Abnegation coming through.

"What kind of paperwork?" He leaned forward on his elbows.

"Just regular paperwork, you know - the usual stuff."

"Nice."

"Yeah…"

Tris was about to ask him about his apprenticeship, but she remembered that he didn't have one. He was ranked last, so he is now a Dauntless janitor. He didn't need much training, so there was no apprenticeship. He had another whole month full of annoying Tris and getting drunk.

"Hey Tris, we are planning on having a party this Saturday night. That's in, what? Two days?" Chris looked to Will for confirmation. He was kissing her neck – which reminded Tris of Eric, which made her face get all red – and he slowly nodded. "Yeah, so, you in?"

"Hell yes." Maybe all she needed was a distraction, and getting drunk, playing party games and dancing would certainly be a good one. And a good alternative to doing nothing in her apartment, all alone.

…

 _Today is going to be good_ , Tris thought; _don't think about Eric kissing you or what is going to happen today, just focus on getting ready._

Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. Her mind was running a mile a minute on how Eric would act today. Would he kiss her again? Act like nothing had happened? Or would he get mad at her? She was running through all of the possible scenarios in her head as she also half paid attention to Christina talking about her anniversary with Will.

"Tris? Hey! Snap outta it!" Chris waved a hand in front of Tris's face with a sour expression on her face. "What are you thinking about anyways?"

"Oh, sorry Chris. It's nothing, I have just been stressed with all this stuff going on, you know?" Tris half lied. She _was_ stressed about everything that was going on, and that was the truth, but she just left out the big details – like how Eric kissed her.

"What stuff?" Chris frowned, unsatisfied with Tris's answer.

"Just…. Stuff. Ya know, the apprenticeship and all that stuff."

"What's wrong? Tris, you're obviously lying. Why won't you tell me?" When she didn't get a response from Tris, Chris joked, laughing lightly, "What did Eric do to you?"

Tris froze, not quite catching the jest in Christina's voice. Did Christina know? Tris didn't know why she didn't want anybody knowing about the kiss. Chris could spin things real fast and think they were dating or… hooking up or whatever. It was also embarrassing for Tris and a blow to her pride because she had been helpless against Eric when he kissed her. No one could know. But she doubted that Eric would want anyone to know that he had kissed the _Stiff_. She shook her head in disgust.

Chris noticed Tris's wide eyes. "Actually though, what did he do to you? Did he hurt you, or come on to you in any way?"

"No, it was nothing. Nothing happened. Nothing, it was completely normal." Tris pointed to the leadership offices. "I think that I'm gonna be early for my meeting with Eric. Don't want him to be mad or anything," Tris laughed breathily, "I should go."

"Okay, bye Tris." And Tris left a very confused and worried Christina standing in the middle of the tunnel leading to the Pit.

…

"Hey Cat." Tris smiled at the girl behind the desk, playing some kind of game on the computer.

"Oh. Hey Tris! I would be careful around him; he's in a weird mood today." Cat smiled freely, and Tris envied her care free attitude to everything.

"Thanks." She walked past her into the Eric's hallway.

The reality of her decision hit her like the concrete wall outside his office. She had chosen to come to _Eric's_ early just to avoid Christina confronting her. She had chosen to go to the place she wanted to avoid _so badly_ instead of talking with her _best friend_. Tris was actually over an hour early.

 _Well, there is no turning back now_ , Tris breathed deeply and knocked on the door of his unformal office.

"Yes?" Eric's deep voice rumbled.

Tris was suddenly nervous and self-conscious as she said, "It's me Tris." She then mentally cursed herself for coming so early - because it was such a stupid decision.

"May I ask why the fuck you are here so early?" He didn't sound as mad as she had seen him in the past, but he did sound like she was a thorn in his side; kind of how she thought about Al. Someone who he wanted to get rid of as soon as possible.

"Sorry, I can leave and come back if you want."

"Nah, its fine, just come in." She then noticed that he sounded kind of tired.

The office was just as depressing and as shabby as she remembered, and she stood at the door awkwardly until he gestured for her to sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk. She sat still, hands clasped on her lap with her back as straight as a rod, like she had in school.

He looked her in the eye, his hands clasped on the desk in front of him. "Listen, Tris, I was outta line for what happened yesterday. I admit that it was wrong me to do, but don't expect an apology cuz I aint giving you one, 'kay Stiff?"

She was glad about the half apology, but was about to protest about the nickname when he smirked and said "'Kay Tris?"

"'Kay, Eric." She had to fight back her silly smile; she had nothing to worry about. She was thanking the Gods and relaxed a bit in her chair. She didn't have to worry about what Eric was going to do now, and a whole weight lifted off her chest. "So, what are we doing today?"

He smirked at her reaction, and shuffled around the papers on his desk. "I have a lot of paperwork still to do, so that is on the agenda for the both of us."

"Okay, just give me the papers and the pen," And with that statement, they silently worked in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Tris got a little bored.

"Eric, did you transfer from Erudite?"

His face went all blank and stony, and he continued on with his work, not looking up at her. "It doesn't matter. I'm Dauntless now."

"But were you from Erudite?" After their exchange earlier, she thought that they were getting farther from pure hatred, so she assumed it was an appropriate question.

She was just making conversation after all.

"Why bother asking? Four already told you." He looked at her accusingly.

"What? No…" Her pathetic protests stopped and she became serious and shrugged, "I wanted to hear it from you. It's not like I trust Four anymore." It didn't hurt to say his name anymore either and she was glad of that.

"Yeah, that's right isn't it?" He always shut down when someone asked him something personal, or whenever they were getting somewhere, she noticed. "He broke up with you, didn't he? It was cheating, right? Yeah, I believe it was that. With Shauna too." He said in a mocking voice, and then huffed out a mocking laugh.

She was hurt by his words, but also vaguely remembered how sweet he was during her breakdown and how he put on a mean façade constantly. "I know you don't mean that."

"What do you mean?" Eric questioned.

"I don't believe that you meant to be that cruel, I think it's an automatic response when someone asks you something personal." Tris liked to look for the good in people, unless there was no hope – like she had thought about Eric during initiation. She was also feeling a bit of confidence from previously knowing that she had nothing to worry about regarding Eric and the kiss, and used that hope to say her very personal statement about Eric out loud.

"You're wrong. I _am_ cruel. And I don't like people prying into my life." She had made him slightly angry by this point. "Listen, I know you don't have a life, but look for someone else to let you live through theirs, cuz I don't want you here."

Tris was stunned. A lot of people had said some really nasty things about her, but this was one of the worst because lately, it _had_ felt like she didn't have a life. She didn't have a boyfriend, and most of her small group of friends were focused on _their_ boyfriends and girlfriends. She felt like crying with a bottle of beer, but instead held her head up high; determine to not let him see how it affected her.

"Your right Eric. I don't have a life and need to live through someone else's constantly. So, tell me, Eric, what about your life? Can I live through it, or is it as non-existent as mine? Tell me, where _are_ your friends at? What about your girlfriend, Eric? Where is she hiding? So, Eric, tell me, how much of a hypocrite are you?"

Eric laughed loudly - not a smirk and he wasn't laughing _at_ her - but an actual laugh. He tipped his head back and laughed from his throat, and once he stopped and faced Tris, he grinned and replied with, "Touché."

Tris grinned at him, "So, when-"

"Don't push your luck Tris." He looked back down at the array of paper spread out before him.

"I was going to ask when we are going to start physical training." She started on her own pile of work, not looking at him.

"I don't know, I really have to focus on the project I'm working on. So, maybe in a couple of weeks? This is the project where I prove myself to Max." He said absentmindedly.

"See? You need my help. I could help you, Eric, help you prove yourself to Max." She pleaded; she wanted to be kept in the loop with what was going on. "C'mon Eric."

"Do you really want me to kiss you again Tris?" He smirked, with an amused and evil expression.

"Why _did_ you kiss me?" Tris must have been feeling very courageous right now, to be asking all of those questions to the scary leader.

He shrugged, "I wanted you to leave me alone, and I knew you would if I, ya know, made a move on you." He looked almost embarrassed, scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh." It was a stupid reason to kiss her, and an unjustified one, she thought.

"I know." Eric said as if he read her mind, and lowered his head. "Tris…"

"It doesn't matter, right? I mean, it's no big deal." Tris started studying the paperwork in front of her to avoid looking at Eric.

"Yeah, well…" He cleared his throat. "I should probably get back to my work. So should you."

"Okay." _Anything to stop this awkward conversation_ , Tris thought.

A couple of hours passed by with a few awkward glances at each other, or the occasional small talk about the progress of their work. Tris was getting hungry by this time, but couldn't gather up the courage to ask Eric from a lunch break after that awkward talk regarding their kiss. Every time she backed out from asking him, she cursed herself for being so pathetic that she couldn't even ask someone who was two years older than her to go to lunch. _Dauntless is about bravery, you coward_ , Tris sighed.

Eric looked up when she signed and asked, "Do you want to take a lunch break? Its 12:30."

"Yes please." Tris got up and stretched out her sore muscles from sitting for so long – she was a very active person and didn't like to be inactive for a long period of time. Although she did have many cheat days after her breakup with Four.

"I know." Eric smirked and gathered his keys and all he would need for lunch.

"What?" Tris was surprised. _What did he mean?_

"I heard your stomach growling for the past half hour. When it started to distract me, I thought it was a good time for you to eat something." Eric looked her in the eyes with his own amused ones.

Tris laughed good-naturedly, but was still a little embarrassed about her stomachs growling. _Was it that loud_? Tris thought. Her cheeks reddened a bit, and even more when Eric held the door open for her.

 _Wait, I distracted Eric?_ Tris thought, stunned for a second because she thought of something along the lines of that kiss. _Don't be stupid, it was my stomach._


	7. Chapter 7

Tris laughed uncertainly, thinking _who the hell is this man I'm walking with?_

Because this man walking down to the dining hall with her and smiling was definitely _not_ Eric. She eyed him suspiciously. He was not acting like he had yesterday, and was even more relaxed than this morning when he had half-apologized to her. Eric was almost joking and talking to her like an equal – not like someone he was in charge of. It felt, to Tris, that they were friends, but she told herself it wasn't true. Eric wasn't friends with anyone, and Christina would kill her for bring friends with Eric – _but it will never happen, so don't worry about it_ , she thought, cursing herself.

"No, I mean…. initiation was hard, but I never felt like giving up." Eric was currently recounting his own initiation. Suddenly, his eyes cast downward. "You know, about your initiation, I…" He paused, searching for the right word that wasn't an apology, "Regret having Four throw those knives at you."

"No. Eric. Stop apologising—"

"I'm not." Eric smirked.

Tris withheld her own smile, but continued on. She wanted Eric to know that if he hadn't, she probably wouldn't have been the top initiate. "Eric, I'm serious, if you hadn't done that, I wouldn't be as strong today. I know, I know, I'm so humble," Tris said sarcastically, "But, it taught me to be strong. I honestly wouldn't have been first if I hadn't had that experience of being challenged. I learned to stand up against bullies like you."

Tris only realized her mistake after she saw the expression on Eric's face.

…

No one understood Eric.

Not his Mother, nor his Father. Not even Jeannine, who seemed like the person he was closest to. And after hearing Tris say those words though, he realized that no one could understand him unless he opened up to them – something that someone in his position couldn't afford. Eric had accepted that he was a bully, and especially to the initiates. No one understood that he had done it to make them stronger, and some part of him liked that Tris realized it. But that part was only a small fraction. He was mostly a bully for respect, something he craved after being put down so long in Erudite. He was also a bully to keep his position as a feared leader. He was a bully for entirely selfish reasons – like every bully was.

Tris had tried and seen that good part of him where he did it for the initiates benefit, but he knew she could not understand his selfish reasons – because she was a Stiff. He knew that they could not be friends then, even though a part of him wanted them to be. Eric liked how Tris was brave, and not afraid to challenge him or stand up to him. He wanted to be friends, but they couldn't because he would contaminate her. Make her selfish and a bad person like himself. He _was_ selfish and in that moment, felt extremely guilty for all of the pain he had inflicted on others. He wanted to believe that he was a good person, but he couldn't lie to himself.

He cheated, lied, worked with Jeannine on her terrible plan, hurt and put people down. All for respect; all for his own selfish reasons. He knew he couldn't be friends with Tris because she was pure, and he was very, very bad.

"Eric, I didn't mean that. You are not a bully, not anymore." Her wide eyes were full of terror at his reaction, and he closed his eyes, because _of course_ she was scared of him. Everyone was because of how he treated them.

"Tris. No, stop. I am a bully. You are right. You have nothing to apologise for," He didn't want to leave this possible friendship that he had thought could come soon after they stopped annoying each other, but he knew that he should. "Tris, I should go." He started to back away.

…

Tris was so utterly surprised at his sudden mood change that she didn't even hide the look of surprised confusion on her face. She thought he would be mad at her for calling him a bully, not agree with her, look lost, and then walk away. She didn't even think that Eric was possible of sadness, and while she watched him walk away, she was sad _for_ him. It was obvious that Eric felt guilty for being a bully, and it was all too clear when he walked away without chastising her. Yes, he was bully and mean and cruel and ruthless, but he could also nice sometimes. He was sweet when he talked to her after her breakup with Four, he was smart because he was formerly Erudite, he was funny when he cracked jokes – which wasn't often. No, he was not perfect – far from it – but Tris could see a small bit of hope in him. Tris thought he could be cruel because he was deprived in his childhood, or because he liked that feeling of power. Tris felt sad for him because she knew he was beating himself up, and she knew all too well what that feeling was like.

Along with sadness, she was surprised at having so many feeling about Eric – especially the feelings of worry about Eric's – of all peoples – well-being. The apprenticeship had been exactly two days and Eric had made her feel more emotions in that small time than Four had ever did – _until our breakup up_ , Tris thought dryly. Eric had made her angry about the kiss, confused about her feelings _after_ the kiss, exasperation, sadness, joy sometimes and so many others.

Tris couldn't deny it any longer, she _did_ have feelings for Eric but she wasn't sure what _kind_ of feelings she had. Tris cared for him, but he annoyed her most of the time. He was usually arrogant, but was funny at the same time. Her frustration at this whole situation could have made her scream or cry, but she instead went to lunch.

All through lunch, Tris was a zombie, not talking or even being as polite as to say hello – and it did not go unnoticed by Christina.

While she pushed around the mushy mashed potatoes on her plate, Tris began thinking, _what should I do? Do I talk to him or continue on like nothing has happened? Should I go to his office, or look for him? Should I talk to him?_ Tris thought that maybe talking to him wasn't such a great idea considering how sensitive, irrational and unpredictable he could get when provoked. Nor did she just want to do nothing about her sudden revelation either. So Tris was stuck in the in-between, not quite doing anything. Or saying anything – much to Christina's concern.

Christina's expression turned sour. She would _not_ let her best friend be this sad and depressed for no apparent reason. The only reason Chris could think of was Eric – and she made a promise to herself that one day, she would finally end him.

"Okay! Tris, stop sulking! I don't know who did this to you, or what happened, because you won't tell me," Christina spat, and made a pointed look at Tris from across the table, "but we need to pull you out of this hole of despair! So, _we_ are going to go shopping. And while we are out, _you_ ," Christina pointed at Tris again with her voice laced with venom, "are going to tell me whatever the fuck happened."

Christina stood up abruptly, not even bothering to say goodbye to Will, and dragged Tris away by her sleeve. Tris was used to it, but was so emotionally tired from the thoughts that were replaying in her mind that she didn't even protest, and went along with whatever Chris said. And that fact was what scared Christina the most.

Three store visits, five changing room visits and two purchased shirts later, Christina was ushering Tris across the Pit to the tattoo shop.

"C'mon Tris, I can do one on you! It can be anything you like. I swear it'll be fun."

…

Eric needed something to distract him, something physical, and something _now_. He just wanted a distraction to take his mind off of the guilty thoughts plaguing his mind. After walking away from Tris, Eric had walked to the chasm, but realized that in his angry state, it was best not to be around it. That was what he was now – angry. He was angry at himself, angry at the guilt, angry at Jeannine for making him go to Dauntless and angry at Tris for making him realize that he had been a bully. Even though a part of him always knew it and felt bad about it, she was the one who reminded him of those feelings. And Eric _hated_ feelings. So he needed a distraction to calm down, _then_ he could think things over like a true Erudite.

All of his feelings seemed to start with Tris, because he was totally fine before the apprenticeships. Yeah, he was really stressed out about the uprisings, but Eric was constantly stressed out – even if he never told anyone. And yeah, Jeannine was making Eric do things that made even _him_ uncomfortable, but he could deal with it. Somehow, Tris saw some part of him that he didn't want anyone to know about, and the fact that Tris – of all people – knew made him mad. And it made him even madder at himself for previously wanting to be friends with her.

Eric stalked across the Pit, leaving people sending weary looks his way. He knew what his distraction was going to be.

…

Tori wasn't his friend, per se, but he frequented the tattoo shop often enough that she seemed like one of his closer acquaintances. And she held back a sigh when Eric appeared in the doorway with an aggravated expression on his face. She didn't mind Eric when he was normal and semi-polite, but she sure as hell _did_ mind when he got impatient, insulting or downright sour. He would nag for her to hurry up, or tell her it wasn't good enough, or tell her that the tattoo wasn't what he wanted. She was suddenly unhappy at the thought of doing a tattoo on Eric when he was in such a foul mood.

Eric stood at the counter in the front of the shop, impatiently tapping his foot. Tori peeked her head in the opening at the side of the curtain that separated the front and the back like she didn't know who was standing there. She smiled politely, "Eric, hey! How can I help you?"

He crossed his arms in a threatening manner, and snapped, "Isn't it obvious?"

She was too tired to deal with all of his shit after the long day she'd had and she crossed her arms. Tori's smile was sugar-sweet but her voice was venomous when she asked, "What the fuck do you want Eric?"

"I want a tattoo, okay? I thought it would be obvious because this is, ya know…a tattoo shop." His voice changed for her to see how tired he was. It made her question why he wanted to get a tattoo if he was too tired to even _snap_ at her.

Tori paused, "'K, come on." She gestured for him to follow her through the curtain into the back room. There were four chairs lined up on one side of the wall, all beside trays of needles and other various tools used for the permanent drawings. She sat him down in the closest chair and started to prep the materials. "Do you know what you want?"

"Yup." He explained the simple design that was going onto the skin on the inside of his forearm. He already had a bunch of tattoos on his arm, so it didn't matter what the tattoo looked like – the design would blend in with the others. Unless someone inspected his arm, they wouldn't notice it.

She started the tattoo and Eric didn't even flinch. His mind shut completely off so he could only focus on the pain caused by the needle. He sighed in contentment because he was calming down. His distraction was working, and he knew, when she was about half-way done, that he could handle all of the thoughts in his mind when she finished.

Tori gave him a weird look and shook her head, "I'll never understand why you enjoy this Eric."

He smirked at her, "And you'll never have too."

He closed his eyes so Tori wouldn't bug him anymore and enjoyed the calmness of his mind. Just as Tori began finishing up and he began to get more comfortable in the disgusting chair – probably coated in bodily fluids judging on how many drunken Dauntless come through here – Eric heard Tori greet someone.

He looked up to see Tris and the snarky Candor slip past the entrance in the black curtain. "Hey guys!" Tori remarked, "Take a seat, I was just finishing Eric's tattoo."

He ignored the fact that Tori was way more cheerful to see them than him, and instead met the eyes of the girl he had come here to avoid. Eric groaned internally, closing his eyes for a brief moment in annoyance. Of course the Stiff had to follow him here, _of course_. Even as Tori was putting the last finishing touches and he could feel the sting of the needle, his thoughts were coming at him, and he was no longer distracted. Tris seemed to be frozen in place with her eyes wide, while Christina just gave him a deadly glare and crossed her arms. They were still standing at the entrance of the back part of the tattoo shop. He couldn't be any less happy to see them than they were to see him.

Christina was still glaring at him when Tris leaned over and said quietly in the taller girl's ear, "Maybe we should leave, Christina. We can come back another time." Tris's eye briefly glanced over at Eric.

"No. We came here to get a tattoo. We are _getting_ a tattoo. If Eric has a problem, then he can leave." Chris smiled sweetly at him.

Eric heard and clenched his jaw. Even though he was there first, he desperately wanted to leave. He couldn't be distracted by the needle and still have them in the same room as him. He was so annoyed thinking about all of his bad luck, and how the Stiff made him so frustrated, that he didn't notice when Tori had stopped.

She knew that he already knew the procedure for taking care of the tattoo, but it was also her procedure to tell everyone, regardless of how many they already had. Tori started, "So, to clean the tattoo –"

Eric stood up abruptly and started to stalk to the door, longing to get out of the same room as Tris. "I know. Just put it on my tab." He growled.

He left the tattoo shop without a glance at the two girls.

…

Tris knew that they should've just left the moment she saw Eric sitting in the back of the tattoo shop, but Christina had insisted they stay. She had felt so awkward standing there waiting for the minute Tori was finishing the tattoo to end. Tris desperately wanted to know what he was thinking. Did he hate her? Because it looked like he hated her, and he wouldn't have ran out of the shop if he had wanted to talk to her. She was so confused and distraught. One minute, they were joking like friends, then she says the wrong word and he leaves in a sad mood. And now he looks as angry as her when she's pissed at Al in his drunken state.

Tris looked toward Eric's retreating back and decided something. She was _not_ going to let him walk away from her this time. Not without a good explanation about his mood swings. She was frustrated and wanted answers. She was also feeling a little guilty for making him run off and was going to talk to him again at another point, so this was perfect timing.

On a whim, she looked over at Christina and Tori talking about a certain type of needle that had just been shipped in and sneaked around the curtain in the front of the shop when they turned their backs. Once she was out of their sight, she broke out into a run, dodging the many Dauntless gathered in the Pit.

Once she spotted Eric's unmistakeable blond hair, she weaved through the crowd until she was at the edge of the Pit near him.

Tris panted, "Eric?"


	8. Chapter 8

Tris didn't know what to say now that she was face to face with Eric in the middle of the Pit.

She knew what she wanted to ask, but she didn't know _how_ to ask it. She hadn't thought about how flawed spontaneously running after Eric was until he was impatiently waiting for her to speak. It wasn't like she could start the conversation with the question: why are you such an unpredictable, confusing, moody jackass? Or why do we seem to be friends one minute, then you hate me the next? Tris stood there, opening and closing her mouth, starting to speak and then stopping, until Eric moved to walk away.

Tris practically shouted, uncomfortably, "What did you get?"

She didn't really want to know what the tattoo looked like, and that was not the point of this little chat. She wanted to hold his attention, and get him to not walk away so she could think of a way to speak to him about the whole 'moody jackass thing'. Now that she thought about it, she _was_ quite curious about what he got, though.

Eric face was full of confusion, and he turned toward her, intrigued and pissed. "What?"

"Your tattoo." Tris pathetically gestured to his arm and cleared her throat. She was seriously regretting her decision to lead with that question – as well as running after him to talk in the first place.

Tris saw a flicker of amusement cross over his face before he shoved his jacket up his arm to reveal his tattoo. It was the silhouette of a pine tree inside the outline of a triangle. There were no trees in Chicago unless you counted the ones near the Fence or the ones out in Amity.

"What kind of tree is that?" Tris had never seen that type of tree before. There were no trees in Abnegation and she couldn't read about them or research them outside of school. Before she could stop herself or think about what she was doing, she lifted her hand and tentatively tugged his arm closer to her, then bent her head down slightly to get a closer look.

Eric was the uncomfortable one now, clearing his throat before answering, "It's a pine tree. I've never seen one, but I read about them in Erudite."

Tris looked up at him, still holding his arm, and smiled a little. "So you _did_ go Erudite." Her voice was filled with amusement, and he smirked at her. Then she remembered why she went after him in the first place and dropped his arm. The fact that Eric had just smirked at her when he was just angry with her– not even a minute ago – made Tris more determined to find out what was wrong. "Listen, Eric, I just…"

"Yes?"

"Ummm…. I just want to know why you're always so unpredictable." Now that she had said it, she got the confidence to continue on, "You are fine one minute, and it's like we are friends - like when you talked to me after Four broke up with me. Then, the next minute you _despise_ me, yell, and want me gone. Earlier today, on the way to lunch, we were talking; I say the 'bully' and you leave sulking. And now, you just stormed out of the tattoo shop like your mad at me. I don't know what _I_ did, but I would like to know." Tris let out all of her feelings, and continued to rant. She wanted to get it out know while she still felt the courage. "I mean, Eric, God, you're so unpredictable! And if it's something I did, I would like to apologise and maybe… I don't know….help you?"

Tris was so relieved that it was over and out in the open. This whole conversation was making her very uncomfortable and the more time that passed when Eric didn't talk, the more shy she felt.

Eric looked around at the small crowd that had gathered staring at the drama that was Tris and Eric unfold before them. He sneered at them, and then grabbed Tris arms with so much force that he was pinching the skin between his fingers. He dragged her behind him along the wall of the Pit to one of the quieter tunnels leading into it. He stopped and pushed her away. "God, you're such a Stiff!" He hissed.

"So? Trying to help someone makes me a Stiff? Really Eric?" Tris crossed her arms, "If that makes me a Stiff, then I _want_ to be a Stiff."

"No one else would do this, you know. No one would confront me to talk about my feelings. No one but _you_." He pointed at her accusingly and continued to ramble. "No one would want to help me Tris, because people are scared of me. And that's how I want it. So no, I don't want help. And am I okay? No, I am not okay, but I will deal with it on my _own_ like always."

It dawned on Tris that maybe he was just lonely, and she almost laughed at the thought that scary, untouchable Eric was _lonely_. He didn't have any friends, and she knew that being an ex-Erudite that he poured himself into work. She had also never seen him at parties or in the Pit on Fridays, so she assumed that he didn't have much of a social life. _Being a leader must be his life_ , Tris thought.

…

"Your always on your own, aren't you?" She sounded pitying, and Eris hated pity.

If he wanted pity, he would pity himself, which he never did because it was a sign of weakness. In Erudite, they taught him that it was not intelligent to dwell on what you cannot do or do not have, and also to fix it. Erudite – mostly Jeannine – would shun you if you asked for help, so whenever Eric had to deal with something, he would deal with it alone and quickly, even now. He agreed with Tris that he was always on his own, but Eric was far from lonely. He was content being a loner; at least that is what he told himself. He figured that when he wanted Tris to be his friend, he was just relapsing and acting on those feelings deep inside him that he wanted to stay buried. "You know what Stiff? You know _nothing_ about me. Nothing." He scowled, and his barely contained anger was about to become uncontained.

"I know more than you think."

"No you don't. Whatever you think that you know about me is wrong. And it doesn't even matter. I am _completely_ content as I am." He laughed without humour.

"But you just said that you weren't okay." She sounded sad, like she really _had_ wanted to help him and it threw Eric off guard for a minute. He had always known she was a Stiff, but he always thought that she had hated him, so why did she want to help him now? She always made him rethink things when he was usually so sure of what he was thinking.

"I also said I would deal with it on my own." He was still mad, but couldn't find the energy to yell at her. Even through his thoughts of frustration and confusion, he could see that she just wanted to help. He was grateful that _one_ person wanted to save him. No one in Erudite did, and everyone hated him in Dauntless. "Tris, I know you want to help, but trust me, I don't need help. How do you think I got to be the youngest Dauntless leader?"

Tris laughed, exasperated, "Trust you? Really Eric? You're a former Erudite, so you commit yourself to your work. You don't have any friends, so you don't have anyone to support you. You're a stubborn person, so you won't _let_ anybody help you!" Tris's voice started to rise, "Pretty soon, you won't have _anyone_ to even _want_ to try and help you; because it's barely even been an hour and I…I give up."

"And you don't commit to your work? _You_ aren't stubborn?" Eric scowled at her. "I _want_ you to give up. Then I won't have a fucking Stiff following me around trying to help me when I don't even want it!"

"For fucks sake, why don't you just accept the fact that you need help? No one is completely fine on their own! Not even you! Why are you doing this to yourself? Why are you doing this to me…?"

She took a step back, startled at her sudden candor.

"What?" His voice sounded like he had just run a kilometer, and his eyes reflected hers with surprise and confusion. "What do you mean? Why do you want to help me?"

She was so relieved that he stopped yelling that she decided to tell him the truth. "Eric, I like you—"

A satisfied grin overtook his face, "Well, if you had just said that in the first place, I'm sure… _something_ could have been arranged."

She laughed at him and nudged his shoulder with her hand. "Not like that, asshole. I want to be your friend, and c'mon Eric, we both know that you need one."

He considered her offer. He had spent so long denying the want of a friend. Would it really hurt? His expression turned grim. He couldn't be friends with her; because she was Divergent and he was hunting her kind. He couldn't lie to Jeannine that way… or could he? Maybe being Tris's friend would give him more ways to protect her and to keep her safe. Yes, that would work. He decided that since this is most likely his only chance at actually having a friend, he might as well take it - even if his new friend was a small and unpredictable Stiff.

Eric looked at Tris and scratched the back of his head, suddenly nervous. _What does being friends even mean?_ "Friends?"

She shook his outstretched hand and grinned up at him. "Friends."

"You know," He started to say as they walked back to the Pit together. "I am not sure why you what to be friends with someone who you have only known for two days."

"I have known you since my initiation!" She shoved him lightly, and he faked coming at her with his hands out, stopping at the last second. "But I know what you mean. I don't know." Tris considered her answer, "I guess I thought, why not? We _are_ going to be spending a considerable amount of time together in the next month."

He laughed and she smiled up at him.

 _Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?_


	9. Chapter 9

A week into the apprenticeship, Eric and Tris had formed a real, true, genuine friendship.

Tris was pleasantly surprised. This was, obviously, not her predicted outcome of the apprenticeship. She found herself thoroughly shocked when reflecting on the differences between the colder version of Eric, and the slightly friendlier, kinder version. Along with his sudden ability to make _and_ take a joke, she was surprised by how he could _not_ be a jackass all the time. He still had his moments – they were unavoidable, after all. In her head, she secretly thought of him as two different people; Eric, the unfeeling leader, and _Eric_ , her friend. She knew that she hadn't uncovered all of Eric, her friend yet; a sweet, kind boy that she decided must be hiding somewhere behind his façade of snarky discontent.

While it was still a stretch to call his treatment of her 'sweet' and 'kind', it was still a great improvement. Now, instead of the awkward silence of before, she found herself comfortably discussing various subjects while completing paperwork at his tiny desk.

While they still avoid many topics, they could hold conversations – or, the inevitable argument – on everything from fighting techniques to the food in the dining hall to even the occasional spiteful comment about Four from Eric. Although she would never admit it, Tris was somewhat pleased that Eric was on her side. To have another person to hate on four with, even though they never had, made her feel like they were co-conspirators. Even if they had nothing else in common, they still had a shared hatred for Four. They hadn't talked about the situation with Four or the hallway incident yet; Tris was grateful he hadn't brought it up. It was enough awkward enough to relive it in her head – but with Eric too? She could never prepare herself for _that_ conversation.

The past was in the past, she decided.

Tris was over it. Over him.

Surprisingly, when she thought of the immediate future for her, it held the apprenticeship, working, Dauntless … and Eric. It was hard to admit that to herself, no matter how true it was. Of course, it was only because they still had the second half of the apprenticeship to complete, not anything else like … that.

Eric was surprisingly a good friend if she ignored his erratic moods, the rare mean comment, and his somewhat condescending nature that often slipped out. It was nothing like her close friendship to Christina. The two relationships were very different. Christina was like her sister – someone she was totally comfortable with. Eric was her friend, but almost something more, as well.

 _A partner_ , she thought once, then immediately scolded herself; that was far too intimate!

Although the friendship was very new and unsteady, Tris knew she could depend on him. Two weeks put their trust in each other just a little bit more. While Tris knew she could never trust him fully this early on in their friendship – his relationship with Jeanine and all he was hiding from her was a roadblock – she knew he had her back and vice versa.

One thing that shouldn't have surprised her, yet did, was his listening ability. He _was_ an Erudite, she reckoned, thus, very observant. Alas, she had still felt shock when, after a near hour of ranting to him about how irritating Christina and Will could be with their lovey-dovey PDA, instead of him rolling his eyes at her (he did at Christina, which she knew was inevitable), he merely offered stilted words of comfort.

Their friendship was still in the early stages though. She couldn't forget that or get too comfortable, she reminded herself.

There were topics of conversations that neither would approach. Both were still slightly wary of each other, as well. Still testing the waters on as to what behavior was acceptable and what was off limits.

The most startling revelation of all to Tris was that Eric seemed like he was actually putting effort into their relationship. She had anticipated a one-sided friendship ever since that day so long ago when she had approached him in The Pit. She figured it would take more time, convincing and getting to know each other before he truly warmed up to the idea of being friends. She had genuinely thought that he wanted to keep his status as a loner intact – not that they had gone public with their friendship.

When Tris first noticed the signs of him actually _caring_ , she thought to herself, _what is he playing at_?

 _There was no way Eric was just being kind, right?_

But the evidence was all there; the first sign had been around a week ago when he asked her how her day had been. It wasn't foreign in her circle of friends to inquire about each other's day, but it had stunned Tris when she saw the genuine curiosity and caring in his eyes.

On that note, when did she begin to be able to read him more easily?

The next clue was when he would remember and bring up small, little things that she had mentioned a while ago; things that most of her friends – if not _all_ – would not have even noticed or thought to mention. Like when she had told him in passing what her favourite food was once, and a week of silence about it later, he was teasing her mercilessly for how boring and predictable her choice was. Cake was a very common favourite food, thank you very much. What was so wrong with it?

Watching Eric comfortable and joking made her wonder why he didn't have more friends. She knew it was because he didn't open up to anybody – but why was that? Of course, he could be sadistic and brutal, to her friends, and previously, to her. She didn't, and couldn't forget what he had done in the past, but she found herself more and more willing to look past it every day.

After a particularly enlightening day in Eric's company – his sarcastic muttered comments were the perfect form of entertainment needed to make boring Dauntless meetings bearable – she admitted to herself that she liked his company very, _very_ much. They made a great pair. And strangely enough, she knew that he thought that too. Don't ask her to explain it – she just knew.

The two of them kept their relationship confined to his office. Usually, a nod or the rare smile would suffice enough as a greeting in public. _It's not like we're dating, we don't need to announce it to everyone or whatever_ , she thought to herself.

Tris had more selfish reasons for not wanting to tell everyone. Of course, she was aware of the backlash it might cause against her, as well as the speculation about their relationship and unrelenting questioning or attention. She especially wanted to avoid the hate and anger from her friends; they wouldn't understand. She didn't want to tell anyone because … it was hers. It was her and Eric's. No one could taint it or provide their opinion. Their friendship was just between the two of them. It felt more special that way. It was their private secret from everyone else. Again, she couldn't really describe it. It was just a feeling.

Tris was contemplating Eric and their newfound relationship while walking down the wall of The Pit to get to the dining hall for lunch.

Too distracted to see the small rock on the path in front of her, she stumbled on it, arms flailing. Her heart lurched suddenly. She thought that she was falling towards her demise. After what felt like a minute of panicky searching for something to hold onto, she caught herself, immediately holding on to a small outcrop on the rock wall of The Pit. She shouldn't be thinking about Eric while on the wall of The Pit. It was too dangerous to be distracted. She may be Dauntless but she wasn't stupid. She looked over the edge, grimacing as she imagined tumbling through the air to the bottom. It wouldn't be the first time someone had. Her cheeks burned at her embarrassing blunder. Had anyone seen?

She took a steadying breath, continuing on her way with her hand firmly touching the wall. No, there were no railings for the Dauntless. She didn't want anyone to see her cowardice by gripping the wall of The Pit, but she wasn't going to push her luck today. She cursed her distracted mind. It was only because she had been having a terrible day.

This morning, she had been late to Eric's office. Of course she had slept in a little bit later than usual, causing her to rush around, throwing on the first shirt she could find on her floor – a super thin, almost threadbare black tee shirt. Even though she was wary of the hot drink sloshing over the edge of the cup onto her hand, she still practically ran to get there on time. She had, predictably, spilt her scalding tea all over her shirt in her rush. Having no time to change and already almost at her destination, she went to Eric's office with hot tea running down her body, soaking her shirt. Yes, she showed up in a near see-through shirt to work.

Eric, as anyone could guess, was not impressed. After a minute of staring down the tee shirt that had practically molded to her body with a look she couldn't quite place in his wide eyes, he cleared his throat, looking anywhere but her eyes as he addressed her.

After a light warning to not be late or show up at his office like this again, she slid into her seat, cheeks ablaze. Was she ashamed, embarrassed or simply annoyed?

Most likely all.

No more words were spoken between them this morning. It felt terrible, like they were back to square one in terms of their friendship.

Awkward, tense silence.

Her day hadn't gone much better since Eric had left an hour before lunch. He told her he had a meeting with Max, but she was suspicious. What was he hiding? His only instructions were to finish a pile of paperwork before leaving for her hour-long lunch break. He was supposed to return by the time she was back after lunch.

She wasted no time; the minute he left, she was at his desk. Riffling through the papers on his desk, sifting through drawers, trying and failing at picking the locked ones and the like. She knew it wasn't behavior you would do to a friend, but couldn't bring herself to feel guilty. She wanted to know what he was doing with Jeanine; it was a simple curiosity. She might even be able to help him.

She startled when she realized that she was finally at the dining hall. She shook her head, trying to dispel any lingering thoughts about Eric. She took a place in line, paying no attention to the people in the cafeteria as always.

Once Tris finished getting her food and holding her tray, she looked around the dining space. She scoured it for the telltale rowdiness that marked her friends table. Which wasn't saying much – all of the tables were rowdy. Except one in the back, which she paid no attention to; there was only one person there in the partial darkness. Tris felt something akin to slight panic in her stomach when she couldn't find her friends. They were at least five or six of her friends she could think of off the top of her head that would always be at a table in the cafeteria every day at lunch. Where were they?

Overriding her thoughts about where her friends were was the fact that she needed to find a place to sit. Of course, this wasn't the first time she had to sit alone at a table. Most tables were groups of friends, laughing raucously. She couldn't very well invite herself into their group, could she? Finally, her gaze zeroed in on that table with the seldom person in the corner after five minutes of standing helplessly at the edge of the tables. She couldn't make out who it is; she only hoped they were friendly.

She made her way over to them. Seriously though, why weren't there any free tables? Just when she thought that this was the worst day of the year, there was a glimmer of hope. Narrowing her eyes, she recognized the person at the table she was currently striding to. Although she knew them, she couldn't force the wariness down. Would he let her sit with him?

She approached silently, dropping her tray cautiously on the table. Sitting down opposite Eric, she sighed. She really didn't know where their friendship stood after this morning. She tensed when his troubled eyes met hers, preparing for the worst. He was terribly unpredictable. Would he make a joke? Smile? Publicly humiliate her? Leave? Maybe she should leave before she caused any trouble. She didn't need it after the day she was having.

No, she would _not_ run away.

She was Dauntless, for fricks' sake!

She held his gaze defiantly, until he broke it to look down at his plate again.

Oh. She wasn't expecting that. Was that non-verbal communication for her to leave?

Wait. She was overthinking this, wasn't she?

Trying to calm her nerves, she took a couple of breathes before picking up her fork. It was nearly to her mouth when he spoke again.

"No cake today?"

She nearly gasped, looking to see the teasing glint in his eyes, which were no longer troubled. Her relief was almost palpable; she practically sunk into the hard bench of the table. She raised her chin, prepared to make a comeback when she saw his eyes flicker to her chest. She looked down. Was there a stain on her shirt? Her shirt had dried, but was stuck to her chest just as much as it did when it was soaked through. She pulled at it self-consciously, trying to get it to unstick to her body. When it only settled back, just as tight, she gave a sigh of defeat and looked up at Eric.

Before she could say anything, her eye caught on someone familiar across the dining hall.

Four.

With Shauna.


	10. Chapter 10

Eric followed Tris's gaze, immediately zeroing in on Shauna and Four; or, more specifically, Shauna on Four's arm. When he looked up at Tris, her face was trained at her plate, betraying her resolve to not show her crestfallen expression. He almost couldn't restrain himself from rolling his eyes. It was ridiculous that she was so hung up about _that_ _guy_.

"Pathetic." Eric whispered nonchalantly into his plate.

Tris looked up sharply, narrowing her gaze, "What did you just say?"

"I said," He paused, as though he was speaking to a child, "Pathetic."

"And why," Tris took a deep breathe to calm her sudden flare of temper, "Would you say that?"

"Well, anyone who has to prove themselves to the whole faction is rather pathetic in my opinion. Wouldn't you agree?" Eric looked up and met Tris's eyes.

She paused for a thoughtful moment while her temper turned into amusement, "I suppose I would have to agree."

"Someone who has to prove themselves by displaying his relationship in front of the faction is truly rubbish."

"He must be real insecure, huh?" Tris faked a concerning expression.

"I agree, Tris. And anyone associated with them must be really glad once they stop, right?"

Tris's smile disappeared. She looked down at her plate while Eric sat patiently, slowly making his way through his lunch while Tris's went untouched.

"Right?" Eric nudged her arm.

"I guess she might be. Especially at first; but later, when she's having doubts, she might not be so glad for leaving that person behind. But then that person always does something she doesn't like, and those thoughts disappear again." She averted her gaze to her t-shirt, pulling on a stray thread on the bottom.

"I don't think we have to worry about her. She's pretty tough."

She looked up at him, suddenly smiling, "I think so too – she just forgets sometimes."

Eric said nothing for a moment. "Well, you know, that person always has a nemesis. Always. And when she leaves him, she can at least complain and whine to the nemesis."

She barked out a laugh. "I do _not_ complain and whine!"

Eric smirked and put up his hands in an 'I surrender' gesture, "I never said that! I just said that sometimes, _she_ complains and whines."

Tris scoffed indignantly, "Just you wait, Eric, I will get you back one day. And then your face won't be as pretty."

"You think I'm pretty? I never knew you thought of me that way, Tris." Eric drew a hand up to the 'blush' on his cheek. "Look at me – blushing. You're such a flatterer."

Tris did considerably well considering the slightly humiliating situation, laughing with only light pink blush lighting up her face. "I never said that!" She threw his own words back at him, "I only said it wouldn't be _as_ pretty. I wouldn't want to inflate your ego. However will you fit through doorways then?"

Eric rolled his eyes good-naturedly at her fake gasp.

Once Tris finished laughing, she looked up at Eric. Not wanting to embarrass him or herself, or focus on the sentimental meaning of their previous conversation, she only whispered a quiet "Thank you."

This time a real light blush appeared along his cheekbones, which he quickly hid behind his long blonde hair. He coughed, "Yeah."

"Anyways," Tris waved her hand through the air as though to dispel any lingering thoughts of the last ten minutes, "I was wondering when we start physical training."

"We start when I say we'll start." Eric gave her a stern look, immediately becoming Dauntless Leader Eric.

"Oh, okay. When will that be?" She was gambling; ether he would react like Leader Eric, who would give her a stern chastisement, or like Friend Eric. She flashed him a smile.

He blew out a breath, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. He regarded her for a moment. "Probably in a few months. I'm really busy right now. We can start after I'm done with my current project, and after you're done with your paperwork."

Tris's fork froze half way to her mouth and her body physically drooped. "The paperwork is never-ending! C'mon Eric. It'll take forever!" She whined.

He gave her a pointed look. Sighing hard, she relented.

Eric stood up abruptly, looking expectedly at Tris.

"What? Do you expect me to stand too?" She questioned with a clueless look on her face.

"Are you done with your plate?"

Tris, baffled, sat up ramrod straight, "What?"

"Don't make me repeat myself." He growled, holding out his hand. Painted across his face was bored indifference, but she detected the hidden uncertainty.

She quickly handing her half-full plate to his waiting hand. "Thanks."

While he stalked away like a doting boyfriend carrying both of their plates and muttering "Don't get used to it.", Tris took a moment to look around the dining hall. Her conversation with Eric had totally distracted her from the rest of Dauntless. Across the dining hall was a group of her friends – Christina, Will and Uriah included. They either didn't notice her, or were giving her the cold shoulder, because they didn't look at Tris once. She had to admit she was glad they didn't see her sitting with Eric. She debated joining them until she saw the tall, burly Eric winding through the hectic tables back to her. The sight of Eric glaring at the rambunctious Dauntless surrounding him and them – unconsciously – leaning away from his presence brought a strange smile to her face. Maybe it was because she knew they had nothing to fear once they really knew him.

Eric walked past a table with a sudden bitter look on his face. Once she saw Four and Shauna occupying the table surrounded by older dauntless members, she understood his distaste. Shauna was looking content snuggled up beneath Four's arm, whose face followed Eric with a sour expression. Tris watched Four until his eyes fell on her, when she quickly looked away to Eric. She smiled brightly at him

Eric, having seen right through Tris's acting, didn't miss a beat. Stepping around the table to her side, he held out a hand and smiled. "Ready?"

Tris had a moment where she didn't know what he was doing – where she had thought it was real. The moment ended rather quickly; she could never imagine Eric ever doing something like that.

She smiled, "Let's go."

He pulled her up by her hand, releasing it and directing it to hover over the small of her back. She started at the light pressure, but kept up appearances until they were past the scowling Four and through the door of the Pit. Walking across the Pit to the elevators leading up to the leadership offices, Eric dropped his arm from behind her back. Instead of feeling petty satisfaction from Four's reaction, Tris only felt anger boiling in her veins.

She clenched and unclenched her fists and moved closer to Eric's side so she could mutter, "God, I hate him."

"I know. I do too." Eric, though furious inside, was the calm and collected one between the two.

"Why does he make me feel this way? Act this way?" She seethed through her clenched teeth.

"I don't know. I don't think you should waste your energy on him." He muttered back as they walked onto the crowded elevator.

Tris stood directly in front of Eric in the elevator, feeling strangely comforted by his warm, looming presence. They didn't speak the rest of the journey to his office, except to say a quick greeting to Cat, who was focused on furiously clicking her mouse.

Once inside his cramped office, Eric sat down in the chair behind his desk while Tris uncharacteristically slumped into what was now deemed 'her chair'.

"You can leave, you know. I gave you the afternoon off." Eric informed casually, frowning at a pile of unpleasant-looking paperwork.

"Oh, right." She had completely forgotten that earlier today, after messing up the whole morning, Eric had given her the afternoon off – out of pity or because he didn't want to deal with her anymore, she didn't know. She shrugged and leaned back in her chair, staring up at the dirty white ceiling. "It isn't like I have anything else to do."

"Well," Eric paused, shuffling some papers around and looking bashful, "You can hang out here if you want. Should warn you though, it's gonna be boring."

"I'm sure I can find something to entertain myself." Tris smirked and winked at him.

Eric's face was completely blank for a quarter of a second before bursting out into laughter.

Her face dropped. "No – no! That isn't what I meant! No!" She dropped her face into her hands out of embarrassment. "Oh no!"

When she raised her face again, Eric saw that while it was completely ruby coloured and looked horrified, she was laughing as well.

His booming laughs were heard from all over the compound.

…

Five hours later, Tris had found something to occupy her: sleep.

While Eric slaved away over documents, paperwork and the occasional phone call (which he courteously whispered, as to not wake her), Tris drooled all over his chair. Every half hour it seemed she changed position, once curled up into a ball on the chair and a half hour later, slung over the arms. Eric, every so often, paused to study the sleeping enigma before him. He didn't even know how this strange friendship started. All he knew was that he enjoyed her company (most of the time), and that he felt peculiarly protective over her (probably because of the whole Four thing).

Looking at the clock on his desk, Eric started when he found that it was halfway through dinner. He walked over to Tris, debating what the best way to wake her up was. He didn't feel like being punched if that was her immediate instinct. He crouched next to her curled up peaceful form. He placed his hand on her shoulder and shook gently.

"No thank you." She quietly mumbled after a moment.

He shook harder, whispering, "Tris. Tris. Tris!"

Groaning, she wiped her hands across her face, blinking lazily down at Eric's crouching position. "Carry me?"

He snorted, standing up and offering her his hand. She took it and he slowly pulled her up.

"No wonder you're always late in the morning. You can't wake up for shit!" He laughed.

She shot him a dirty look, "Hey, no big words when I've just woke up!"

He looked incredulous, "What big word did I use?"

She waved him off. "What time is it?"

"Dinnertime."

She looked scandalized. "Why didn't you wake me?"

He ignored her, walking out the door and down the hallway. Tris rushed to catch up with him.

"Maybe I wasn't the only one who needed a nap," She muttered, but he just kept on walking.

When they walked into the dining hall together, no one noticed. It was the middle of dinner; everyone was preoccupied with eating and chatting within their pods. Not even Tris's friends noticed her absence or arrival, for she sat down in the same corner as lunch with Eric again. She gave a quick glance towards Four's table where, sure enough sat Four and Shauna looking the perfect couple of lovebirds. Or they would be if Four wasn't scowling so hard.

Of course, she could see how this looked to Four; Eric and her walking in together, her looked dishevelled and Eric looking content, after them leaving from lunch together. And instead of feeling satisfaction from his bitter reaction, she found that she didn't really care much at all.


End file.
